When you work for Rubin Postaer & Associates (RPA), one of the largest independent advertising agencies on the west coast, there are certain guidelines that you have to follow. You will drive a Honda or Acura, you'll carry Blue Cross medical insurance, you'll purchase Pioneer electronics and you'll make your investments through Charles Schwab. RPA believes strongly in supporting their clients. So when you work for RPA, you better make sure that you too support the brands that RPA represents.

In 2002, Nick Yen of RPA was in the market for a new ride. Since he works on the team that handles the Honda North America account, he knew that his new ride would be a Honda. Still, he had a choice to make. As a born enthusiast, his decision was simple. The choice would be Honda's flagship performance vehicle, the S2000.

S2000 Background

In 1999, Honda introduced the S2000 as a way to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The marvel of the roadster was the F20C all-aluminum, four-cylinder engine. This short-stroke, high-efficiency, 9000rpm-redline VTEC powerplant pumped out an impressive 240 horsepower at 8300rpm. That was the good news about the F20C powerplant, the bad news was that the engine reached peak torque outside of the "normal driving" rpm range. As a result, to thoroughly enjoy the F20C engine, a driver needed to rev the crap out of it.

How "torque-challenged" is the F20C? Peak torque of an F20C occurs at 7500rpm. For comparison, the Honda B20 four-cylinder engine generates peak torque at 4500 rpm. In 2003, Honda addressed the torque deficiency by increasing the displacement of the 2.0-liter to 2.2-liters. The F22C1 powerplant sported a less exciting 8000rpm redline, but peak power was now realized at 7500rpm while peak torque checked in at 6500rpm. As a result, the F22C1 powerplant gives the impression of a more powerful engine due to its earlier torque curve.

Boost is Better

While Honda doesn't offer any factory turbocharged engines in the U.S. market, the aftermarket has found that high-efficiency Honda engine love to be boosted. The F20C is no exception to the rule. Originally, Nick wanted to keep it simple by having the original engine turbocharged. XS Engineering of Huntington Beach, California was called upon to create a custom turbocharger solution. The goal was for excellent response and power in the 300 to 350 horsepower range at the wheels. The original XS Engineering T04E turbocharger system hit the nail on the head by delivering 340 horsepower at the wheels with an awesome boost response curve. According to Nick, "The powerband was excellent and the power delivery was very smooth." After driving for about a year with an extra 140 horsepower at the wheels, Nick became a little bored with the setup. "The first setup became a little too smooth for my liking. Having owned some turbo cars in the past, I missed the slight lag followed by a boost rush of power." Nick then began to contemplate what it would take to have an S2000 that could pull away from a Porsche 911 turbo on the freeway.

Built for Speed

With a new set of objectives, Nick once again paid a visit to XS Engineering. New power goals of at least 450 horsepower on pump gas and 500-plus horsepower on race gas were set. The XS Engineering crew determined that these power levels could only be attained at higher boost pressures. Since higher boost pressures would not be compatible with the ultra-high 11-to-1 compression ratio of the F20C engine, a number of decisions would have to be made. After evaluating a number of options, Nick decided to spend a little extra now to make sure that he wouldn't want more later. This would mean that the F20C engine would has its displacement increased along with getting the "boost compatible" components it would need to be able to lay down the desired power.

Starting with an F20C engine block, Cosworth Racing honed the cylinders to accept a new set of Arias forged 9.2-to-1 pistons. These forged pistons offer a significant strength advantage over the factory cast pistons. This allows the piston to survive in situations were the factory piston literally falls to pieces. The Arias pistons are joined to a factory Honda F22C1 crankshaft by Crower forged-steel connecting rods. The F22C1 crankshaft has a 90.7mm stroke; this is 6.7mm longer than the F20C's 84mm stroke. As a result, the F22C1 crankshaft pushed displacement from 1997cc to 2157cc, a 160cc increase. XS Engineering blueprinted the entire engine assembly to ensure that proper bearing, piston and ring clearances were maintained on the short block. As for the cylinder head, cams and intake, XS Engineering believed that the power goals could be met with the factory components in place.

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